Auction Info


So... how does it work?


Our program involves NO financial obligation or risk. We will provide items to your organization on a consignment basis. Any item which does not sell will be returned to us free of charge.

CBU will work with you to gain an understanding of your event and demographics of your guests, then set up a time when you can visit our showroom to select the items you would like in the auction. We also have a new online selection page where you can shop for your items conveniently on the web. Next, we will deliver the items the day of or the day before the event. Our specialists will set up and tend to the auction display while you and your guests enjoy the event and get into the bidding spirit. At the completion of the event and after all items are paid for, you will receive a detailed invoice from CBU. It will show the cost of each item, how much it sold for, and the total amount of money raised from Charity Benefits Unlimited's participation in the event. If we have processed payments for you, we will send a check for the amount raised along with the invoice. It’s that simple!

NO RISK / NO COST


● If no items receive bids, there is absolutely NO COST to your organization.

● A portion of the proceeds from EVERY ITEM SOLD goes straight to your organization.

Authenticity


Your guests will rest assured that the signed items they purchase are 100% authentic and come with certificates of authenticity. CBU uses nationally known signature authenticators for items obtained outside our company.

● James Spence Authentication

● PSA/DNA

● Global Authentication


Available Services


Charity Benefits Unlimited is a full service organization. We are equipped to handle all aspects of your silent auction fundraising event. You can customize each event to meet your needs. Simply choose from any or all of the services listed below.

● Bid Sheet Printing - Allow us to take on this tedious task! For every event we are involved with we can print bid sheets for all silent auction items (including up to 100 items you have procured on your own). All bid sheets will come customized with your organization's logo, name, description of the item, starting bid, and bidding increment. Click here to see a sample bid sheet.

● Item Selection - You can visit our showroom before the event and select all items you would like in the silent auction. We also have a new feature of online "shopping" for our items. Please contact a CBU specialist for more information. If time is short and you cannot select items, we will use our expertise to pick items from our inventory which will best meet the demographics of your attendees.

● Event Attendance - You can choose whether we attend the event and monitor the progress of the auction or if we drop off the items and allow you to handle the set up of the auction.

● Auctioneer - Letitia Frye, CBU's exclusive auctioneer, can help your event raise thousands more during your live auction!

● Payment Processing - We can provide on-site payment processing, including cash, check, or any major credit card. For credit cards, we will only deduct the amount necessary to cover our cost for processing.

● Delivery or Shipping - We will locally deliver any odd or oversized items free of charge to winning bidders. If the winning bidder is out of state we will package and ship the item for minimal cost.

How Much Can We Raise???


In the past we have raised as much as $25,000 in one night with only 20 items in the silent auction. However, the amount raised is dependent on several factors:

● Size of the attending audience - The more people in attendance, the more items will be bid on.

● Mix of items placed in the silent auction - You do not want to discriminate against any potential bidders by exclusively offering items out of their price range (either too high or too low). Our goal is to prevent any of your guests from feeling excluded from the auction due to prices. Remember, it only takes one high-priced item to make the entire event more successful.

● Placement of silent auction in relation to rest of the event - It is best to place the auction in a location where it will have the most traffic. You also want to allow room for the traffic to flow smoothly and not develop a tangle. We recommend near an entrance/exit, buffet, or bar.

● Amount of publicity given to silent auction by Emcee - A good Master of Ceremonies has the ability to drive a lot of traffic to the tables by announcing the silent auction on a regular basis. If during the last 30 minutes they gave 10, 5, and 1 minute warnings of the auction tables closing you can expect a much better bidding turn out. It is our experience that most bids are generated during the last 5 minutes of the silent auction.